Where the middle class is going: To those that have shall be given. “…labour markets are hollowing out, polarising into high- and low-skill occupations, with very little employment in the middle. … The typical worker has fallen behind even more than a straightforward look at the respective shares of labour and capital suggests. … Technology has created a growing reservoir of less-skilled labour while simultaneously expanding the range of tasks that can be automated. Most workers are therefore being forced into competition both against each other and against machines. No wonder their share of the economic pie has got smaller, in developing economies as well as in the rich world.”

The science fiction and fantasy community, which I lurk around the edges of online, is currently dealing with revelations concerning the identity of a generally respected writer who has turned out to also be a appallingly destructive internet troll. There are many online discussions of this, I’m just going to link to this report—a little digging will find the rest if you are interested: A Report on Damage Done by One Individual Under Several Names. Trigger warnings also apply here.

Halloween follow-up: one of the things that happens every Halloween is that some really inappropriate costumes turn up, whether home-made or as consumer products. One of this year’s entries generated this response: Women with actual PhDs review ‘sexy PhD costume’ on Amazon. (Amazon reviews truly are a source of some wonderful satire.)